The hardest part of creating linkbait is not the creative process, it’s actually a project management issue.
The hardest part of creating linkbait is defining the objective. I think this because I constantly see people skip this crucial part.
What is it you want the linkbait to achieve?
And if your answer to that is get links, we need to talk. You need to be more specific, drill down, focus. Shine the spotlight on the actual people you want to get links from.
Linkbait, or using viral content to get links, works best when a specific target is in the sights. Creating linkbait is a series of processes and each step of the way the objective must be kept in mind. This is because linkbait is more effective when it moves people emotionally to act and give a link. When you know your target group and you know what they react to it’s simply a case of creating content which you know they will react to in a positive way.
The reality is, planning and project management is boring, it’s uncomfortable. This is good because it means that most of your competition will not be doing it. It is where you can get an edge.
As you become more experienced in creating content to tease links out of people the process gets quicker and if you become a master baiter it can be instant.
But, unless you are a Lord of the dark art, you need to sit down and think about the objective, and map out the process before you get stuck in.